Closing ‘Gaps’ in Radar Defense : U.S. Spending $1.8 Billion on DEW Line

The bears on the prowl in this cold, wind-whipped outpost don’t all have fur and teeth. Some are Russian “bears,” bristling with missiles.

They are the prey of radar operators here and at 30 other remote Distant Early Warning--DEW Line--sites scattered from northwest Alaska to Greenland. They scan the skies over the Arctic Ocean ice each day, looking for electronic tracks warning of an approaching Soviet Bear “H” turboprop bomber toting 1,000-mile-range cruise missiles.

Within 40 Miles

The bombers often fly within 40 miles of the Arctic coast before U.S. fighters intercept them and escort them back over the ice-covered Beaufort Sea, officials say.

“We’ve had a number of Russian aircraft within a close proximity of our coast,” said Air Force Capt. Bill Harrington, 38, refusing to be more specific for reasons of “security.”

“The probing goes on constantly. But there’s this genuine fear they are capable of penetrating a radar gap.

“We didn’t fear it as much a few years ago. To be efficient, they had to fly at high altitudes. We could pick that up.

‘Low-Altitude Threat’

“But with cruise missiles, there’s a new low-altitude threat. To fill that gap, we’re overhauling the system.”

A Defense Department memo dated last March 14 put it another way:

“There is an immediate need to replace the DEW Line to address foreseen improvements in Soviet forces. The current DEW Line contains numerous low-altitude coverage gaps, exhibits poor radar performance characteristics and is expensive to operate and maintain.”

Expands the Reach

John Garrity of Wilmington, Del., an area superintendent with the ITT subsidiary operating the DEW Line sites, said the $1.8-billion modernization program will expand the reach of the stations, most of them capable of detecting aerial activity up to 200 miles away.

“It’s the first significant upgrade in 27 years, or the life of the line,” Garrity said.

Among other things, the modernization will include a network of 52 new long- and short-range radar stations overlapping across Alaska, Canada and Greenland.

Operational by 1992

Thirteen additional “minimally attended” radar systems are being installed in Alaska and are expected to be operational by 1992, officials say.

The DEW Line’s 528 employees will be cut to around 150 because many of the stations along the 3,600-mile line will be automated, Garrity said.

“It will make us more reactive, more efficient and less expensive,” he said.

Began Working in 1957

When the DEW Line started working in 1957, the Pentagon said it would provide as much as six hours of reaction time--time enough to organize and fend off possible Soviet bomber attacks over the most direct polar route.

That was in the days when America’s protective shield included civil defense shelters in backyards and public buildings, 2,600 jet fighter interceptors and thousands of ground-to-air missiles.

IBMs Changed Everything

The introduction of intercontinental ballistic missiles, however, with their hypersonic speeds, 10,000-mile range and pigeonhole accuracy, changed all that. American defense efforts turned toward space, the ultimate high ground.

But with the recent development of cruise missiles--terrain-following, air-breathing weapons--Pentagon planners have been brought back to earth again.

DEW line improvements and advanced, over-the-horizon radar systems are being added to mesh with President Reagan’s proposed “Star Wars” initiative, a space-based defense against ballistic missiles.

More of a ‘Defense System’

“It will be more of a defense system than a line,” said Garrity, adding that the combination of computerized and minimally attended ground stations will be called the North Warning System when completed several years from now.

For the moment, however, the DEW Line crews continue looking north with their unblinking electronic eyes.

The technicians are civilians, employees of FELEC Systems Inc., based in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Crews Well Paid

Crews are paid well in exchange for working in remote locations at the top of the world. Salaries average $50,000 to $60,000 a year.

At the Point Barrow base, the farthest north in the system, employees are housed in quarters featuring 24-hour-a-day kitchen facilities, libraries, satellite television, music rooms and, in one case, a sauna.

“Some people tape music, read or get into photography,” Garrity said. “Others have personal computers and programs they play with.

Plenty of Vacation Time

“Our . . . people get 84 days of vacation a year. Some people split it up and go out every three months.”

Theirs is an insulated job requiring teamwork for on- and off-duty tasks.

Fire drills, for example, are taken seriously at the sites, some of them without road links to any communities.

No Smoking in Bed

“Fires are one of our most important concerns up here,” Garrity said, pointing out signs in each room warning that smoking in bed is grounds for immediate dismissal.